While modern television (TV) provides an immersive, shared experience, it is passive and has no means of interactivity or access to “in-depth” or detailed information concerning the TV presentations being made. More and more people are using the Internet to satisfy their need for information on spectator sports, entertainment and big name events. The World Wide Web (“the web”) can be used to enhance the TV viewing experience by giving viewers interactive views, more comprehensive information and access to a global community of people with similar interests in a connected environment.
Although television and web mediums can be complementary, today's approach of providing an integrated experience has significant drawbacks. One drawback is related to the available “visual real estate”. Integrating TV and web into a single screen reduces the amount of real estate or screen space available for each medium. The strategies of splitting the screen or overlaying one medium atop another medium to provide more content usually detract from the overall experience by adding clutter and distracting visual “noise”.
Another drawback of the current approach is in social scope and interaction styles. The interaction styles of TV and web presentations are completely different. TV is for the most part a public and passive viewing experience while the web is a highly personal and interactive experience. When TV and web media are combined on the same screen, the social scope/interaction style of the one medium interferes with that of the other medium.
Thus, there is a need for an improved method and system for selectively providing information which supplements and is coordinated with a selected presentation in a given medium.